A Torrent of Ferrets
by LadyAlambiel
Summary: A simple ride lands Peter and Edmund in a world of trouble and a...a torrent of Ferrets? For WillowDryad.


Disclaimer: I don't own Narnia or any characters you may recognize from the books or the movies, I wish I did but I don't...

Summary: A simple ride lands Peter and Edmund in a world of trouble and a...a torrent of Ferrets? For WillowDryad.

A/N: A oneshot requested by WillowDryad. Hope you like it. This is set in my A Light in the Darkness universe, but you can read it as a standalone. P.S. Peter and Edmund are 21 and 18 in this oneshot.

**A Torrent of Ferrets**

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"It _isn't_ funny, Peter."

Peter just laughed harder, his forehead nearly touching his horse's neck. "The look on your face, Ed, when the little countess sidled up to you was very funny."

Edmund felt himself blushing as he scowled at his older brother, "She was worse than Teddie!" The reminder of the terrifying Terebinthian women who'd descended on them over four years ago made Peter reel in his saddle from the force of his laughter. Edmund narrowed his eyes then leaned over and gave his brother a light shove. Peter yelped in surprise as he lost his precarious balance and fell off his horse. Edmund smirked.

Peter picked himself and dusted himself off with exaggerated care, combing back the blond hair that had fallen in front of his eyes. "Think that's funny, huh? Well, let's see how you do when you're not cheating."

Still smirking, Edmund dismounted, allowing the horse (Philip was off visiting his family) to trot a few paces away to join Peter's horse. "I don't have to cheat, brother mine. I just outsmart you. Besides what is it that Oreius has been trying to pound into your thick skull for the past eight years? Oh wait, I remember, it was be aware of your surroundings at all times."

"All right, Pevensie, that's it!" Peter tackled him. Narnia's kings laughed and wrestled as if they were young boys instead of young men at the ages of twenty-one and eighteen. Edmund stuck his foot between Peter's feet and tripped him, so the High King of Narnia ate a mouthful of leaves and dirt. Spitting out the leaves and dirt, Peter immediately repaid the favor by grabbing Edmund's leg and yanking it so Edmund landed on his back hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs. Edmund groaned causing Peter to stop wrestling and lean toward him, "Edmund! Ed, are you all right? Ed, talk to me. Did you land on a rock?"

Peter reached toward him only to yelp when Edmund grabbed his wrist and flipped him to land on the ground, snickering, "I can't believe you fall for that every time!"

With a yell of mock fury, Peter got to his knees and put Edmund in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles against the top of his head. Edmund squirmed, but both their efforts were being hampered by their laughter. A low rumble of thunder caused the brothers to stop with Edmund still caught in Peter's headlock. Edmund elbowed Peter in the ribs, "Let go, you great lummox."

Peter let go, staring at the darkening sky as another rumble of thunder sounded louder and closer than before, "Whose idea was it to go visit the Beavers?"

Edmund glared at his brother, "Yours because "oh Ed, that's the only way the girls won't suspect we really went to the Western Woods to escape the deplorable company of the countess and her horrible Auntie Beattie.""

"I did not say that and I have never spoken in falsetto."

"Unless you were mocking Susan."

"No, that's what you do."

Edmund opened his mouth to retort but a clap of thunder drowned him out as the thunderstorm swept over them. The horses squealed in fear and shied away. He exchanged an alarmed look with Peter as they raced to snag the horses' reins before the frightened beasts could run off. Edmund grabbed Shafhelm from the saddle just as the horse reared and jerked away, pulling the rain-slicked reins through his fingers just as he tried to close his hand around them. Another clap of thunder followed by a bright flash of lightening allowed him to see Peter's horse vanishing through the thick trees after his own horse. He squinted through the rain at Peter, who was clutching Rhindon, "You know Oreius is going to kill us when he finds out."

Peter groaned, "And, probably assigns us to make twenty visits to the points of the compass after training for a month."

Edmund grimaced, "And, you know- Wait, what was that?"

They stood perfectly still, each with a hand on the hilt of their swords, as they strained to hear anything over the storm. Edmund silently indicated toward a narrow path through the thick trees and even thicker underbrush. Peter nodded and led the way as they crept down the path, swords drawn in readiness. Edmund narrowed his eyes as the combination of wind, rain, and lightening threatened to blind him. But, as they crept further down the dark path, he could finally make out the tiny noise that had first caught his attention. "Oh no, please. I don't want to be eaten. I...I...I'm strungy, you don't want something strungy. And...and...I smells all wet and musky. And...and... Help! Help! She's gonna eat me! Mummy!"

Edmund glanced at his brother and received a nod. Peter heard the voice too. They raced forward, breaking into a clearing, startling a Harpy. She screeched and dropped a small, lithe, furry little Beast who darted into the underbrush before Edmund could get a good look. The Harpy hissed and flapped her wings as she darted up, barely avoiding Rhindon's shining blade. Edmund placed his back against Peter's as they both looked up, squinting against the deluge of rain, trying to spot the Harpy. He caught a glimpse of her wing as lightning arced across the sky just before she slammed into him. He grunted as he slammed into Peter then the Harpy screeched and grabbed his shoulders, lifting him up in the air as she cackled, "Die, little king!"

Edmund heard Peter's shout of fury below and a quick look down confirmed his brother was quickly dwindling in size as the Harpy kept climbing. He tightened his grip on Shafhelm and slashed at the Harpy's leg. She shrieked in pain and dropped him. Edmund inhaled sharply as he fell through the top branches of a large pine. Shafhelm slipped from his grasp and he let out a strangled cry as his left leg caught on a thick tree branch and snapped, tumbling him further. He must have passed out after the second time he hit his head because when he opened his eyes, he was on the ground, face pressed against a pile of leaves and prickly pine branches. Shafhelm lay a few paces away. He could hear Peter yelling his name but his chest hurt to the point that he couldn't take a deep enough breath to answer. Lightning illuminated the area again. Peter was running toward him but behind him… Edmund lifted his head and croaked, "P-Peter behi-"

The Harpy slammed into his brother, tumbling them both. Her huge bat-like wings enveloped Peter just as she raised her good leg to claw at Peter's unprotect face and neck blocking him from sight, but not blocking out the sound of his pained yell. Edmund gasped from the pain coursing through his body as he crawled toward Shafhelm, dragging his broken leg behind him. He had to help Peter. He clutched Shafhelm then forced himself to stand, balancing on his good leg. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he lunged forward, slashing across the Harpy's back and tearing through her right wing. She screeched in pain then gasped and choked as Rhindon's tip emerged through her back. The Harpy fell, writhing and choking out curses on Edmund and Peter and Aslan.

Edmund choked back his own cry of pain as he saw Peter lower Rhindon so the sword was resting beside him as he still lay on the muddy and bloody ground. The rain plastered his fair hair to his head and the lightning revealed dark rivulets of blood dripping from cuts along Peter's face, neck, and chest . Unable to keep his balance, Edmund dropped to the ground next to Peter with a hiss of pain then eased onto his back. He started slightly when Peter's hand grabbed his sleeve and mumbled, "Ed. Eddie?"

"I'm here, Peter." He felt Peter's fingers suddenly go lax and struggled to find the strength to sit up but the pain would only allow him to turn his head toward his brother, "Peter? Peter!" Lightning cracked overhead and thunder clapped as the rain continued to pelt them. He tried to move his legs and gasped as the pain from his broken leg filled his vision with dark spots. Tired, cold, and hurting, Edmund could no longer resist the beckoning peace and painlessness of unconsciousness. _Aslan, help us..._

Edmund stiffened when he felt something crawling up his leg and his tunic. A nose and whiskers tickled against the underside of his jaw before a narrow face poked into view. He blinked in surprise as the little Ferret (for it could be nothing else) stared at him then grinned, showing pointy teeth, "Mummy! Mummy! Daddy! Daddy! He's awake!" The Ferret touched her nose to his as she balanced her little forepaws on his chin, "I'm Beezie! Are you King Edmund? He said you were, but are you? You saved me! She was going to eat me even though I told her I was all strungy! You saved me! Are you hungry? Your face is purple and green, does that hurt? How come you don't look like your brother? Were you in a different litter? Is that why? Binker is white instead of looking like me, but Mummy says that's because he was in a different litter from me. Do you want to meet him?"

"Beezie! How many times must we tell you not to stand on the King?"

Edmund blinked again as Beezie's face disappeared from sight and he felt her clamber down his shoulder. He raised his head slightly and met the gaze of a sleek older Ferret who walked up to him and laid one paw on his chin before speaking in a surprisingly deep voice, "I apologize for my daughter's rudeness, Your Majesty. She's still very young and hasn't mastered keeping her curiosity in check when she's excited. I am Crombie." He adjusted the spectacles balanced on the end of his nose, magnifying his dark eyes, "My wife, Izzy, and I owe you and your brother a debt for saving Beezie from that infernal Harpy, my King."

"Peter? Where..."

"Right here. I'm in better shape than you, Ed. But, that's a good thing considering it took quite a bit of adjusting to get you into Master Crombie's home." Peter leaned over as Master Crombie walked away (shooing several of his kits along too), looking slightly pale but smiling in spite of the many tiny bandages covering the cuts on Peter's face and neck, and peeking through the torn portions of his tunic. "As soon as the storm passes, Master Crombie is going to find the patrol that due to pass through this part of the Western Woods any day now. Until then they have graciously extended us their hospitality."

Edmund blinked then groaned, "Isn't..."

Peter nodded, "Yes, Oreius is the one leading that particular patrol. Don't move your foot, Ed. You'll knock over Mistress Izzy's sewing." He smiled, "It's a good thing you're so skinny otherwise it would have been a lot harder to get you in here."

"I'm not skinny. I'm lean, wiry, athletic-"

"Strungy!"

Edmund raised his head again to see that Beezie was back and sitting on his ankle, "What?"

Peter snickered, "She means stringy."

Beezie nodded, "Uh-huh. Strungy!" She looked over her shoulder and whispered very loudly, "Come on, they're awake!"

At her words, a veritable torrent of Ferret kits burst into the room and clambered over both Kings (though they took care to not step on Edmund's broken leg), all chattering and squeaking and bouncing in excitement. Beezie once again planted herself in front of Edmund but then she pointed to a larger albino Ferret, "That's Binker! He's my brother and he's two litters older than me but he's not strungy at all."

As Beezie continued to chatter, Edmund glanced over to see a pretty little sable Ferret patting the hair down on Peter's head then giggling, "Your fur's funny, King Peter." Then she pointed at Edmund, "How come his fur sticks up funny?"

Peter smirked, "Because he won't let our sister, Susan, cut it, Binxie."

Edmund scowled at him but then Beezie patted his chin, "How come you don't have fur on your faces? Aren't they cold?"

Edmund sighed as the Ferret kits continued bombarding them with questions. Eventually, Mistress Izzy scurried in, wiping her forepaws on her apron as she shooed the kits away and bid the Kings to get their rest while Master Crombie went to fetch the patrol. Glancing over at Peter, Edmund swallowed then asked, "All right, Pete?"

Peter nodded from where he was still hunched over, his head brushing against the dried herbs and jars of pickled eggs hanging from the rafters of the large kitchen and front room of the Ferrets' home. "I'm fine. All she did was scratch me and Mistress Izzy already cleaned the scratches. You're the worst off, Ed. Broken leg, your left shoulder was dislocated, your ribs are probably cracked at the very least, and we think you have a concussion based on that knot on the back of your head."

A groan escaped Edmund, causing Peter to lean forward, "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Susan's going to kill me."

Peter relaxed and chuckled, "After she kills me since it was my idea to go to the Beavers."

His voice was quiet and the familiar guilty look was already in his eyes before he'd even finished his sentence. Edmund gave him a hard look, "Don't start blaming yourself. I was the one who insisted on escaping the Countess and her horrible Auntie Beattie."

Peter opened his mouth to protest but then he looked speculative, "That's right you did. Why did you want to get away so badly?"

Edmund felt his face heating up as he mumbled an answer. Peter leaned closer, "Sorry, didn't catch that, Ed. What did you say?"

Edmund scowled, "She pinched me...both of them actually."

Peter grinned, "What?"

"First, the Countess sidled up to me and pinched me. Then, when I turned to her, her horrible Auntie Beattie (who was standing on my other side) took advantage of the moment and pinched me too. Why do you think I could barely sit in the saddle when we left?"

Peter's mouth twitched then he hung his head and desperately tried to stifle his laughter as Edmund glowered at him. "They pinched you?"

Edmund didn't bother to speak to him again until after Master Crombie had fetched the patrol (which was indeed headed by their Centaur General) and they were carrying him on a litter back to Cair Paravel. He struggled to hide his smirk as he only half-listened to Susan, the healers, and General Oreius lecture Peter and him, being more occupied with plotting the perfect revenge for his big brother. After all, being sentenced to bed rest until he healed gave him lots of time to perfect his plotted revenge.

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**A/N: Please Read and Review!  
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